The end of April rained away, our lawns were so water
logged we could have started a swimming school for hens. Our lovely sheep did
their usual plodding along, wearing their damp woolly jumpers with grim
expressions on their, otherwise, sweet faces. They spent time indoors when the
rain turned Monsoon-like as they can't abide getting soaked. Understandable as
it takes forever for them to dry. It will be shearing time next week and they
cannot wait!
Monty turned up one evening after one of his ramblings, soaking
wet and trailing his tail feathers along in the sand. It looked very sad but he
was happy as Larry, telling me all about his day. Monty is an old Finnish hen
breed, the same as all his lady friends. We can now officially register our
feathery lot as a gene bank for this old "Alhon kanta" breed. (That's
the name in Finnish.) As I have told before, their hen ancestors date back to
the Bronze Age and they are a no fuss gang. A little rain can't stop Monty and
his ladies and when faced with a puddle, they wade through. As a whole, our
hens can take all kinds of weather but they do enjoy a warmish stable during
the winter months. As they say "don't we all?!”
We still have to wait some days for our new chicks to
arrive. Suggestions for good names are very welcome, as my mind has gone a bit
blank, on that front. The other piece of good news is, that we are getting two
lambs and their mother to stay with us. The lambs are the most beautiful
animals, sporting a mixture of black and white, like someone splattered them
with a paintbrush. They also have black circles around their eyes, so they
might be super heroes. Time will tell... The twins will spend the summer with
their mother and hopefully grow big and strong from milk, grass and fresh air.
Mindy, Mandy, Molly and My will get the shock of their life and we will take it
from there. One lamb will be called Milly and the other one will probably be
called Maja. The difference between the twins so far is a small black spot on
Milly's nose. Let's hope all goes well and that we can send their mother home
later in the year and that the youngsters can stay with us forever and ever.
All this rain has made the grass grow even faster so our
sheep are now the size of small Beetle cars. Molly has started speaking with a
dark, rumbling voice and My is very jumpy and wild. Spring affects everyone,
somehow. Mindy continues to sounds like a foghorn and Mandy goes the opposite
way and never speaks out loud. Thankfully her expressions speak volumes, so we
know what she thinks, most of the time.
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| Swallows. Credit: Dasha Dimitrova |
The family's of white wagtails have returned to us and
are spending their time around the animals; hanging out with the hens and
feeding near the sheep. They are friends helping each other out and benefitting
nicely in the process. The month of May is a bit magical, the way everything
comes together. I guess we are still living in Easter time, so to speak. New
beginnings, new life... Whatever it is, we cannot complain, especially today,
as the sun came out this morning and everything is misty and hopefully starting
to dry up, a smidgen. The swallows that build their nest in the garage arrived
yesterday and come July, the car has to be parked outside. Bird droppings on a
car are not good. We love our swallows and it's always heartwarming when they
return.
Just read about the Lincoln Longwool sheep in this month’s
County Living magazine. It's one of the many sheep listed on Britain's rear
breed list and it looks brilliant. Next time when Molly complains about her
coat of wool I will show her a picture of a Longwool. To have a jumper made of
that wool.... Will stick to supporting our local farmers though, but one can
dream, can't one?! Molly tells me one can get a grip and come out and feed them
some nice bread. So I will do just that. It is sunny, after all. Be well and
happy May to everyone.
Text by Nina
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